I grinned. “Sleep’s for losers anyway.”
He laughed again. “I take it you won’t mind if I crash your party.”
“You’re going toloveElaine.”
“Oh. Elaine Matthers? Did Talos set you up with her?”
“Oh yeah, we’re getting along like a fire in summer.”
“Why am I not surprised...”
How hard would it be to sneak off with Blake once he got up here?
I could probably catch him before he made his grand appearance, sneak off while Talos had his back turned and his attention somewhere else in order to meet Blake somewhere down on the trail.
I’d probably be in deep shit once it was realized I was missing, but honestly, how much did I care when it got me to have a little bit of alone time with Blake for a bit?
All I wanted to do was grab him and kiss him. That soft, sappy shit you saw in romcoms when the two leads finally came together again after being forced to spend an extended amount of time apart. We’d barely been separated for eighteen hours and I already practically wanted to crawl out of my own skin with need.
“Come up here,” I said into the radio.
“Okay. I’ll start out as soon as the sun comes up. You guys will be there all day so I should see you just after lunch.”
“Sounds perfect. I’ll save you some trail mix.” God, I couldn’t wait.
“Want anything from base camp?”
Just you, I almost said before stopping myself. “Nah. Just promise not to twist your ankle before you get up here.”
“You got it. I’ll see you soon.”
Springing up from my spot on the ground, I pinched the dial to flip it back to the main channel before heading up to the summit again. There were people scattered everywhere, most tents already pitched and a few with their own makeshift hangouts facing out toward the view.
Talos was off to the side with Ivan, a healthy bonfire having been stoked in my absence, that was far enough away from everyone’s sleeping quarters, but close enough that the roasted smell of meat was wafting over the entire site.
His eyes immediately narrowed on me once I headed for him.
I waved the radio in my hand. “Here you go.”
He took it from me, glancing down at the changed station before saying, “All good?”
I grinned, not being able to help it from splitting my face in half. “Yup.”
He stared at me for another long moment, Ivan behind him propping up another log inside of the fire. “You sure?”
It was so obvious he wanted to ask me what the hell that was all about, why his boss was calling to talk to me privately, and why I’d come back with a skip in my step. All very valid curiosities that I wasn’t going to give a damn about entertaining.
I threw out a thumbs up instead. “Yup. You want help? I hear I’ve got a mean way to charcoal.”
“We’re good, thanks. Might want to go check up on your hiking buddy.”
“Okay,” I sang, backing away slowly. “If you change your mind, you know where to find me.”
Elaine was sitting on an elevated rock that was tall enough to let her long legs swing in the wind, a peaceful smile on her face while she watched the fading like disappear beyond the horizon.
“Hey, you.”
Her head snapped to me. “Hey! Did you get some good photos?”
